The Kitchen has reached the midpoint of its eight-issue run, and from here you might get a sense of which direction things are heading in for Kath, Raven, and Angie --- mob wives turned mob bosses in the Hell's Kitchen area of New York in the late 1970s. In the fourth issue of writer Ollie Masters and artists Ming Doyle and Jordie Bellaire's crime drama, the husbands got out of prison --- and as you might imagine, the reunions weren't entirely happy ones. In issue #5, the men are ready to reassert themselves, but the women aren't going to just fade into the background.

The series is building to a fascinating confrontation in its really rather... unorthodox examination of women's changing roles in the workforce in the latter half of the 20th century. This is a comic that takes a serious and mature approach to storytelling, and it's easy to imagine that it won't end well for anyone, and it certainly can't end well for everyone.

Vertigo sent us an exclusive five page preview of the fifth issue. As you might expect given the story's setting and themes, the preview contains a lot of strong language. The Kitchen #5 is on sale this Wednesday, March 18th.

Here's the solicitation info for the issue:

The Kitchen #5
Written by: Ollie Masters
Art by: Ming Doyle
Cover by: Becky Cloonan
U.S. Price: 2.99
On Sale Date: Mar 18 2015
As their husbands make their presence known back on the streets of New York City, Kath, Raven and Angie solidify their relationship with Gargano. But is it enough to guarantee his loyalty? Or will the streets of Hell’s Kitchen run red with their blood?